Hey, Spike! sees Rolo continuing to enrich lives

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Who better to direct continuing education at Colorado Mountain College in Summit County than a 47-year old guy planning on graduating in May with a bachelor's degree?

Here he is: Rolando "Rolo" Cuadrado.

As you read this, Rolo is taking his last class to earn a degree in business administration.

"My new job at Colorado Mountain College is a great fit for me," he explains. "I get to work with many different parts of the community in creating new courses. As director of continuing education, I plan the non-credit classes (except culinary, ironically; those are done by our excellent chef, Doug Schwartz). I also plan the speaker series at CMC, and I am always open to suggestions from the community."

That "ironic" part of Rolo's comments will be revealed here later.

Very active in the business and civic communities, he sold real estate at RE/MAX for three years and followed that up with three more as a mortgage banker at Wells Fargo in Frisco.

Civically, Rolo is very involved with the of the Rotary Club, and tells it this way:

"I was president of the Rotary Club of Summit County in 2011-12, and active in Rotary at the club, district and international levels. My big passion in Rotary is RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards), a leadership conference for 240 high school students in Estes Park every summer. This year I am chair of the RYLA conference. In 2009 I worked with a RYLA graduate to start the Interact Club at SHS. Now led by Rotarian Rob Phipps, and sponsored at SHS by Rob's math teacher wife, Kim. Interact is the leading youth service club in Summit County."

It was his involvement with RYLA that Rolando became Rolo.

"I used to be Rolando, but now I'm Rolo. It's a nickname from some of my RYLA students, and it has stuck," he explains.

The Cuadrados moved to Frisco in 2006, from San Antonio, Texas, and have called Frisco's Water Dance home since 2007.

"Our kids talked us into moving so they could ski more," Rolo says.

Now here's that ironic part:

"I met my wife Paulina, from Guadalajara, Mexico, in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu in 1989. We're both trained chefs, but now she usually cooks and I happily do the dishes."

They married in 1990.

Paulina just started a new job last week at Early Childhood Options, as the family liaison coordinator for Head Start. She had worked at Dillon Valley Elementary for six years.

Their marriage has produced three children.

Son Alex was valedictorian at Summit High School last year, and is now studying hard at Princeton University.

Alex spent his junior year in high school in Vicenza, Italy. This summer he'll be the head junior counselor at Young RYLA in Larkspur.

"Alex addressed the Rotary Peace Forum in Honolulu this week, on RYLA, and how it contributes to peace," says dad.

A second son, Danny, will graduate this May from SHS and is looking at colleges now, probably in Colorado.

Daughter, Natalie is a sophomore at SHS, but is spending this year in school in Mexico.

"She's attending the same school in Guadalajara that Paulina attended 30 years ago," the proud father says.

The unique performance is slated for The Lodge at Breckenridge, 112 Overlook Dr., starting at 7.

"There's something for everyone in our performances. If you go to concerts to listen to beautiful music - check. If you want to see a live performance to watch the performers' intensity - done. If you want to be enveloped in the experience - we've got it," says NRO spokesperson Julie Chandler.

The "fourth wall" is a theater term pertaining to the imaginary wall at the front of a stage, through which the audience sees the action of a play.

The advance ticket price is only $20; youth 18 and under are $5. There is premium seating available for $30.

Social Club Hub, a one-of-a-kind new free website, is connecting individuals and social clubs across America.

"Whether you're looking for a running club in Wisconsin or a book club in New York, you will be able to find a club that matches your interests on SocialClubHub.com," says Breckenridger Gary Sonnett, the Social Club Hub president and developer.

Clubs already signed up include sports clubs, bike clubs, running clubs, skiing clubs, fishing clubs, book clubs, travel clubs, civic groups, as well as a range of other hobby groups.

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Miles F. Porter IV, nicknamed "Spike," a Coloradan since 1949, is an Army veteran, former Climax miner, graduate of Adams State College, and a local since 1982. An award-winning investigative reporter, he and wife Mary E. Staby owned newspapers here for 20 years.